Tuesday, April 12, 2005

San Marco

LC didn't like Venice at all. Which perhaps is not too surprising considering that we had arrived in Venice in the early dawn by rail. The railway passes the industrial district on the mainland, crosses the causeway and enters the railyard via the carparks and staging areas for visitors and goods destined for Venice proper. Without a doubt the least romantic way to enter the Serene Republic.

Her dim view of the city was probably caused by the dismal autumn weather combined with the melancholy decaying buildings, but I think that dog shit also plays a big part in this. In our first rambles around the city, she exclaimed that 'There's dog shit everywhere!'.

When you come to think of it, the dog shit isn't that surprising. Venice is overwhelmingly a city of stone. There are very few parks with grass, so if the dog has to go, the street is the only place to do it.

Venice's subtle charms did go to work though, and her initial dislike did eventually change. Apart from the glories of Saint Mark's square and the Grand Canal, there are also the little hidden treasure's like this bright spot of life and colour in the picture which we stumbled across when we got lost in San Marco.